Clear Your Calendar for August 22 at Noon

St. Louis has been in the forefront of the recess rallies that have been popping up all around the country. Well, get ready for the big one. If you haven't been to any of these rallies yet but have been thinking you ought to show up, then this rally on August 22 is the one to attend. In cities and towns across the United States, on August 22, 2009, the American people will SURROUND our legislators' offices and say:

KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF OUR HEALTH CARE!

If you live in or near St. Louis, you can choose your location. Special events are being planned for Senator Claire McCaskill's office (5850 A Delmar Blvd., St. Louis) and Representative Russ Carnahan's office (8764 Manchester Rd.).

Here are some tips from the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition website if you attend (oops--is this "organizing"? Someone had better report me at flag.whitehouse.gov, quick!):

• On the day of the event, arrive at the staging area by 11:00. Bring bottled water. Wear sunscreen and bring some to re-apply. [Remember, 80% of success is just showing up.]
  
• Be happy. In America we can demonstrate and change minds. In Iran and hundreds of other countries, we could be killed for this.
  
• Be brave. The unions [read, SEIU, the purple-shirt people] may hire knuckle-draggers to intimidate or even to beat us. We will take their blows and march on.
  
  Think this is hyperbole? I watched the purple-shirt people do everything they could do at the Russ Carnahan event to goad our side into a reaction. When that didn't work, they put a conservative African-American man in the hospital. This wasn't just something I heard reported; I was standing 10 feet away when it happened. I'm convinced that the only reason these purple-shirt thugs backed off of the beating they were giving to Kenneth Gladney is because they saw they were being caught on video. So I would add one more thing to bring with you if you can: bring a video camera, and if you see something happening, use it.

For more information and to keep updated about the event, go to the St. Louis Tea Party Coalition website.